Hunt Re-Commits Tories to Triple Lock After Election

'No secret vault of money' for WASPI campaigners, says chancellor, as he doubles down on his Party's commitment to the triple lock

Alliance News 25 March, 2024 | 10:15AM
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Jeremy Hunt UK Main

Jeremy Hunt has promised the triple lock for pensions will be included in the Tory election manifesto but refused to commit to compensation for so-called Waspi women.

The UK chancellor said the safeguard, which raises state pension payments by the higher of inflation, wages, or 2.5%, would be kept throughout the next parliament under the Conservatives, suggesting his Party was confident it would be able to pay for it.

Asked if the policy would be retained, he told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg:

"Absolutely. We made that commitment to pensioners and we think it's a very important one," he said.

However, Hunt declined to promise compensation for women hit by changes to state pension eligibility, amid accusations the government failed to adequately inform those born in the 1950s about an increases to the age at which older people become entitled to one.

Speaking to broadcasters, the chancellor denied pushing a decision to one side, saying the issue highlighted by the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign was "genuinely more complicated" than others in which compensation has been promised, including the infected blood disaster and the Post Office Horizon scandal.

It comes after a long-awaited report by the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) that found the changes to the state pension age were not communicated adequately and that those affected should receive an apology and compensation.

Asked whether it was responsible for the government to leave "huge unpaid bills" to the next parliament, he said:

"We had the ombudsman's report on Thursday, but we've also had a report from the High Court and Court of Appeal in 2020 that says the Department for Work and Pensions behaved completely within the law and didn't discriminate," he said.

"So it appears to say something different and we do need to get to the bottom of that apparent difference between the two."

He added: "we want to resolve it as quickly as we can, but there's no secret vault of money. The money we would pay in compensation has to come from other taxpayers, so we do have to take time to get this fair."

Campaigners have demanded action over the report, warning Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be on a "sticky wicket" when he goes to the country later this year if he fails to heed the ombudsman's findings.

But amid straitened public finances, politicians on both sides have shied away from commitments to payouts, with neither Labour nor the Tories issuing a formal response to Thursday's report.

The PHSO suggested compensation could cost between £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion, although campaigners are pushing for a higher figure.

By Nina Lloyd

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